John Dent, the mastering engineer who worked on albums by U2, Love and Rockets, The Stranglers, Bob Marley and others, and is credited by Andy Partridge with figuring out XTC’s Skylarking suffered for years from “reversed polarity,” died of cancer last week at 63.

Beggars Archive will reissue the Cocteau Twins’ 18-track compilation ‘Stars and Topsoil: A Collection (1982-1990)’ — originally released by 4AD in 2000 and spanning 1982 debut ‘Garlands’ through 1990’s ‘Iceblink Luck’ EP — in the U.K. early next year on a 2LP set on white vinyl.

Andy Partridge this week unveiled the restored cover art — featuring close-up photos of men’s and women’s flower-adorned pubic hair — planned for the forthcoming double-vinyl reissue of XTC’s 1986 album ‘Skylarking.’

This afternoon, the Andy Partridge-run Ape House Records offered an update on the forthcoming double-vinyl reissue of XTC’s 1986 album ‘Skylarking,’ declaring the new corrected edition of the album ‘is about 30 percent better sounding than any previously heard.’

XTC’s Andy Partridge today announced the band will reissue 1986’s ‘Skylarking’ on double vinyl ‘as it was intended to sound, but never has due to human error.’ No release date has been announced, nor plans for another CD reissue.